Promoter Convicted in $1.3 Billion Tax Case After Juror Flap (1)

A real estate developer was convicted for promoting $1.3 billion in fraudulent tax deductions after a judge removed a deliberating juror who told the judge she was “standing up for White people.”

Jack Fisher was found guilty Friday in Atlanta federal court of selling tax deductions to wealthy individuals using so-called syndicated conservation easements, which offer tax breaks for the promise to avoid developing land. Prosecutors said Fisher relied on exaggerated appraisals and backdated documents in the scheme, which earned him tens of millions of dollars.

Jurors also convicted a lawyer who worked with Fisher, James Sinnott. Attorneys for Fisher ...